Press Releases

Walk This Way Comes to a Close

11.30.2012

Hundreds of northwestern New Jersey pedestrians, from kids to seniors, were out and about during October for the second annual TransOptions’ Walk This Way Challenge. They walked at their own pace, when and where they chose, collectively logging over 8,000 miles. The free month-long event was created to increase awareness of safe walking habits and encourage walking as transportation.

"We're extremely gratified by the support for the Walk This Way Challenge," said John F. Ciaffone, TransOptions President. "Participation and miles-walked doubled in our second year of conducting the Challenge."

Online communication by TransOptions throughout the month contributed to the Challenge's success and inspired participants to tell us about their walking experiences. One participant from Chatham said that walking after the recent hurricane "really helped his family to run errands while conserving gasoline and we plan to continue walking into town." Another shared, “My goal was to increase my miles a little more each day and if there was a time where I would 'slip,' I just picked up where I left off."

Walking safety tips were shared with registrants and prize drawings were held weekly for all active participants. The first 150 to register received a reflective zipper pull along with a pedometer to measure their steps.